Chapter 426
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: [Unknown]
Chapter Title: Shattering the No-Kill Sword Intent
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Lu Yang felt that at this moment, he needed to step forward.
By now, he had seen through the mastermind's scheme. They clearly aimed to uproot the lifetime of Perfected Being Demon-Quelling's vow to wield the sword without killing.
*This is a strike at the heart alongside the body.*
[Sword Intent] was a cultivator's lifelong obsession, a condensation of their will. At its peak, it stood unyielding as forged steel; at its nadir, it crumbled like a paper tiger.
Perfected Being Demon-Quelling's [No-Kill Sword Intent] was precisely that. Once doubted by someone he had saved, rebutted, and ultimately shaken to his core, the [No-Kill Sword Intent] would weaken without fail. Then, he would no longer suppress the surging destiny weighing on him—Perfected Being Demon-Quelling would immediately seek gold for his sword!
*'Can't let them succeed!'*
Certain he had grasped Perfected Being Che Xie's and Guangming Buddha-Son's plot, Lu Yang stepped forward to aid Perfected Being Demon-Quelling against the encirclement.
His shoulder sank slightly.
"No need."
Perfected Being Demon-Quelling pressed down on him and shook his head. He advanced, gazing at the old man.
"The Pure Land gleams with splendor, yet it is no place of true benevolence."
"These so-called Buddhist cultivators may wear the label of righteous path today, but in my eyes, they remain demonic at heart. Joining them offers fleeting gains but sows endless poison. I know your lifespan nears its end, breeding fear that left you open to their temptations. No matter—it's only human."
Perfected Being Demon-Quelling regarded the old man steadily.
His eyes held peace, devoid of killing intent or coercion.
Yet under that gaze, the old man nearly flinched away.
He could not meet it.
Guilt? Remorse?
No.
—Rage.
". . . Don't look at me like that."
The next instant, the old man ground his teeth, voice low and trembling.
"Has anyone ever told you—your eyes don't even look at people?"
It was an uncanny sensation. To the old man, Perfected Being Demon-Quelling's gaze treated him not as a living soul, but as an object—a fragile thing riddled with cracks, demanding delicate care. Hence the boundless patience.
How could he trust such a man?
From start to finish, the other had never seen him as human. What weight did his words carry? Pure deception, perhaps!
A stifling fury knotted in the old man's chest.
Perfected Being Demon-Quelling paused, taken aback.
"My gaze?"
He pondered briefly, then smiled.
"So that's it—the root of your doubt? You've misunderstood. . . . I don't reserve it for you alone."
With that, Lu Yang caught Perfected Being Demon-Quelling glancing back at him.
Eerie. A mere look, yet Lu Yang discerned the intent: appraising a lush leek and priceless treasure.
Even absent that gaze, he might suspect hidden motives. Now, it confirmed them outright.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator's spiritual sense was razor-sharp.
Against it, Perfected Being Demon-Quelling's eyes brimmed with arcane profundity, potent enough to unsettle even that acuity—a single glance breeding unease.
But what lay at its core?
"My life has been one without killing."
Perfected Being Demon-Quelling clarified.
"Yet [No-Kill Sword Intent] proves easy to forge, hard to sustain. Thus, at times, I must cease seeing people as people."
Lu Yang and the old man froze.
That simple?
To avoid killing, sometimes view them as less than human.
So in Perfected Being Demon-Quelling's sight, Lu Yang truly was prime leek fodder?
Literally?
*'Too absurd.'*
Lu Yang kept it internal. The old man barked it aloud, sneering.
"Fobbing me off with such nonsense?"
Perfected Being Demon-Quelling offered no further defense, countering instead.
"Then, Shiyuan—what do you propose?"
His eyes on the old man stayed serene.
To him, this elder was merely a pawn of schemers. Best dissuade him, spare him the storm.
The old man refused.
He clenched his jaw. . . . Lu Yang had guessed one thing right. Absent Perfected Being Demon-Quelling as the target—and with backing to guarantee safety—a loose cultivator lord would never dare disrupt the Sword Pavilion.
Yet here he stood.
". . . Kill me."
Silence broken, the old man met Perfected Being Demon-Quelling's stare.
"Behead me. Survive, and your words ring true."
"Die, and my death exposes your sham to all."
"Fine plan. So be it."
Perfected Being Demon-Quelling nodded approval, brimming with certainty. . . . Those he beheaded truly lived on.
*Clang!*
Before the old man replied, the sword flashed free. The [No-Kill Sword] arced like an antelope's horn, traceless across the neck.
Instantly, the head tumbled into Perfected Being Demon-Quelling's grasp.
No blood marred the act.
But ere he spoke, the severed head's eyes bulged wide, face contorting. A roar erupted from its maw:
"Pain slays me!"
Words done, body and head—pristine till now—gushed crimson torrents like rivers unleashed!
In a blink, blood soaked the hand clutching the head. The old man, cry spent, shut his eyes. Vitality fled his features; soon, a lifeless skull rolled free to the floor.
A soul drifted silent, resentment thick, vanishing into the [Underworld].
*'Dead.'*
"Dead."
The murmur rose from the crowd, swelling to thunderous proclamation:
Elder Mo Shiyuan was dead!
The famed [No-Kill Sword]—vowed bloodless—claimed its first victim, felled by Perfected Being Demon-Quelling's own hand!
"Master. . . ."
Lu Yang eyed Perfected Being Demon-Quelling warily.
He shook his head.
"Sigh."
This second sigh bore potent "intent," stirring baseless yet crushing sorrow in Lu Yang's heart.
Others outright sobbed.
*'[Sword Intent]!?'*
Lu Yang reeled inwardly. Same [Sword Intent], yet Perfected Being Demon-Quelling's dwarfed his own.
Unleashed? Nay—mere raw emotion rippled outward, swaying all nearby. Even Lu Yang, bearer of [Sword Intent], succumbed. How far had he trod this dao?
Meanwhile, deep in the Earth-Piercing Abyss.
Perfected Being Che Xie shot to his feet, exultant.
"Success! His [Sword Intent] unravels!"
Never banking on Mo Shiyuan's barbs, he pinned all on that final death—his scheme's crux!
*'Perfected Being Demon-Quelling's solitary path yields not to words.'*
*'Shatter the intent, overwhelm his destiny surge, force gold-forging? Strike the root: [No-Kill Sword Intent].'*
*'[No-Kill Sword Intent]?'*
*'I'll make you kill one. Slay, and it crumbles!'*
Perfected Being Demon-Quelling grasped it at Mo Shiyuan's demise—hence the second sigh.
*'My [No-Kill Sword Intent], sword art too, enshrined in clan halls.'*
*'Target my intent, seed a death under my blade. . . . Only clan raid yields that art.'*
*'Force impossible—I'd sense it.'*
*'Thus. . . Ye Clan yielded it willingly.'*
Insight born, sorrow surged unchecked, [Sword Intent] slipping reins.
Pavilion plot within; clan betrayal without.
*'So be it. Sect and kin alike bar my survival.'*
*Boom!*
Next breath, his Daoist robes bled scarlet. From fractured [No-Kill Sword Intent] erupted sky-rending killing aura!
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